Health experts have clashed over advice on the effects of eating fat.
Public Health England’s chief nutritionist Alison Tedstone said advice from the National Obesity Forum that eating fat could actually cut obesity and type 2 diabetes, was “irresponsible”.
The controversial report, which accuses major public health bodies of colluding with the food industry, calls for a “major overhaul” of current dietary guidelines. It says the focus on low-fat diets is failing to address Britain’s obesity crisis, while snacking between meals is making people fat.
It calls for a return to a focus on “whole foods” such as meat, fish and dairy, as well as high-fat, healthy foods including avocados, arguing: “Eating fat does not make you fat.”
The report also argues that saturated fat does not cause heart disease while full-fat dairy, including milk, yoghurt and cheese, can actually protect the heart.
Prof David Haslam, chairman of the National Obesity Forum, said: “As a clinician, treating patients all day every day, I quickly realised that guidelines from on high, suggesting high-carbohydrate, low-fat diets were the universal panacea, were deeply flawed.
“Current efforts have failed – the proof being that obesity levels are higher than they have ever been, and show no chance of reducing despite the best efforts of government and scientists.”
Dr Tedstone said: “In the face of all the evidence, calling for people to eat more fat, cut out carbs and ignore calories is irresponsible.”
She said thousands of scientific studies were considered as part of the official guidance adopted throughout the UK, whereas the National Obesity Forum quoted just 43 studies, some of which were comment pieces.
She added: “It’s a risk to the nation’s health when potentially influential voices suggest people should eat a high fat diet, especially saturated fat. Too much saturated fat in the diet increases the risk of raised cholesterol, a route to heart disease and possible death.”
